HAPPY NEW YEAR! Rather than ranting about the absurdity of annual market forecasts that always have no basis in reality, the following is a superb New York Times commentary by Jeff Sommer about Wall Street’s usual round of absurd views of what’s ahead for the investment markets. (Published December 19, 2025) Want to Know Where the Market Is Going? Don’t Trust This, or Any, Forecast. Wall Street stock gurus are making predictions again. Our columnist got into the game with a number he doesn’t believe. By Jeff Sommer Wall Street experts are forecasting where the S&P 500 will close at the end of the next calendar year. Why shouldn’t I do the same? You might object that I have no idea where the market is going, and you would be right. But so what? Nobody else knows, either, and that’s never stopped Wall Street. The professional strategists are spewing out numbers in a preposterous annual ritual. These forecasts are almost always incorrect. When they’re right, it’s on...
Investment and economic observations by N. Russell Wayne, CFP, MBA. Mr. Wayne is the president of Sound Asset Management, inc. and former Managing Editor of The Value Line Investment Survey.